All of you have at one time or another attended some great events.  What I am interested in is what you would say are the things that make an event truly stand out from other events.  In this case, I am thinking about how Microsoft could raise the bar for events that it delivers as “first party” events in places like Minneapolis, Omaha, Des Moines, etc.  Think – how could the VS 2010 Launch event have been absolutely killer…. 

Clearly, content is king, but I would love to hear your thoughts on the end-to-end experience….  Just some things to get the ball rolling…

- Content – Clearly we need to have good content.  What makes good content?  Is there a difference between Launch style content (new stuff) vs. other types of events (everyone has some level of understanding)?  Can you have content that pleases both senior developers and a junior developer?

- Venue – How do you feel about theaters? Hotels better? Other? Is parking a big deal or just something you deal with?  Screen requirements (multiple? High resolution? Etc.)

- Swag – is it a major turn-off if you don’t get product?  Do you think handing out eval software on premise is worth it? Trinkets? Hard copy of links to resources?

- Food and Beverage – what is your expectation?  The minimum required for an event?

- Demos – do you like longer, more elaborate demos?  Quick hit, show me what I need to know? Scenario based?  Do certain types of demos lend themselves to different types of events?

- Videos – Do you like opening videos?  What kind? “Welcome from Steve Ballmer”, “Funny spoof videos”, “customer testimonials”, “cool tech demonstration videos”

I know there is more. If you could take some time leave a comment or two, that would be great!